Chair attachment device



March 28, 1950 R. J. CONRADT CHAIR ATTACHMENT DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 10, 1946 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

March 28, 1950 J, -r 2,501,993

CHAIR ATTACHMENT DEVICE Filed Dec. 10, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Q N Q; N Q

w Q Q 3 mm Q w t N \N Q N) J 12 w w "a s$m w R 5' K) floelganfiadi INV ENTOR March 28, 1950 R. J. CONRADT CHAIR ATTACHMENT DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 10, 1946 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM Patented Mar. 28,- 1950 STATES wremr OFFICE CHAIR ATTACHMENT DEVICE Richardi'Ji Cjonradt, Rochester; N. Y

ApplicationDecember 10, 1946, Serial. No. 715,278.

20mins; '1'

This-invention. relates. to. a. new. and. improved chair. attachment devicemfjlwhichthe following iszaispecification.

The primary obje.ct-...o.f this. invention resides i'mthe provision. of. a. new. and. improvedattachment'li tor. seats. in. public. conveyances. such; as buses; trains. or. the. like... which make. available to. the-occupants. of the seats. therein a. comfortable adjustable. head. rest' which carries an. adjustable. reading; lamp individually therewith thereby. increasing..-the..comfort of, the passenger whileiin;occupancyof the seat.

Another; object. of this invention is. the. previsi'on Of. a. chair iinprovementf device of the, character. d'escribedwhich. is provided with a. speaker inherent-in,.the;.construetion of. theheadrest .and which is; adaptedlforrselective operation. inv com.- hination. witlra radio. or... phonograph means com-. mon to all of. said seat'headrests.

Still. another. object.v oi. this. invention is the provisionpimeans for-thehorizontal and verti-v cal. adj ustments. of the; headrests relative tothe chair. to. make. themadapttable to.v the...desires.. of. occupant. or. the. chain and the. individual control... for. the. selective, operation .of. the. indie vidiial speaker carri'edlwithin the. headrests. of. ehch chair.

' Still... another object. of' this. invention. is. the

provision of; a chair. improvement device. of. the.

character: described which. is. quickly. and.) easily adiustable andoperable andzwhich. is .of simple, durable; and: relatively inexpensive. design: and

construction,

i Further improvements and'advantagesofthis;

invention will readily appear. to those. skilled in Ei$z6 ikraaverticetliorossrsectionuofithe headrest:

illustrating itsi construction;

3,... is a; plctorial'liview ofi' a. partial section of. the-corps.nsiorr;tube;

Referring now: to the: accompanying" drawings which illustrate the" preferred embodiments of thisri'nvention; andin which like" numerals indisimilar-- parts. throughout the. drawings A dsi'znatesthezbackzofia or; seat-orthe, type t "e...art..w1ien. the;v fol-lowing; description. is; read.

2.- used; in. travelling conveyances such as buses, trains or the like.

A. right angular mounting plate! is secured to the back of the chair-A with one angularly leg 2' of the plate I. horizontally secured: on. the top of and in the. center of the. chairbackA with the second leg B fastened down the back of. the chair A by means. of set screws 3. or the like throughthe plate top andiback:

The adjustable headrest C comprising the primary embodiment of this invention issecured to the plate to be suspended adjustably over. the seating area from the. back in amanner to; be described'at a future pointin. this specification.

The adjustable headrest C comprises. a flat backing plate4. On one side of thispl'ate. is" secured, by a. cement ortheslike; a cushion f perforated foam. rubber. giving resilience-thereto, andla. second. cushionv 6 of. spongy rubber is.s,e-v cured. outside-of the firstlayer to complete. the cushionwhich is thencoveredjwith. a fabric ma terial T'siinilar to thechair. upholsteryv Av hole D is. provided through the. center of the tworu'bs ber cushions inwardly opening onto. a headphone speaker 8 which is suitably secured tothe back l ng, plateoutwardly therefrom: and the wiring. 9 therefor are carried upwardly therefrom to open outwardly through. the. top of the cushion...

A pair of angular swivel brackets. H1 and H are horizontalIy secured rearwardl'y from the backxof the. plate 4 in spacedvertical alignment; each of "said horizontally extended brackets is. providedjwith an. aperture tlielower. I Z'being. circular and the upper ['3 being square.

A hollowcylindricaLtube I4,.,With open. ends. thereinto, is adaptedtofit between the two brackets. in a vertical position; and. secured. in .suclra. position byav vertically inserted elongated. car.-v riage bolt l5 which. is proyided' with a. rounded head. [6'- and. 9. depending. square. shoulder,,. 11,1 whichis adapted'to seat. inthesquare aperture l3f of the. upper bracket thus-preventing the roe tation of the bolt, and the lower end of. this. bolt is provided with. athreaded shank. l8 which eX- tends. down-ward through the. lower circular aperture where. receives upwardly awmetal washer I91 and an. internally threaded cap. nut. 20; with a. swivel lever 21 is. threaded upward-lyover the shank [8 to lock. the hinge. An-eyebolt or loop 2.2; is. provided: on the-top of the bolthead l5:- to provide aguide. eye for the wiring.

Thetube- I4. is. provided at. its. upper and lower 2.4.. which extend. in oned-irection. in verticallaligm ment outwardly from the tube M. The upper leg 23 terminates at its extended end in a circular Vertical guide 25, while a hollow cylindrical tube 26 is vertically secured by weld 2'! or the like to the extended termination of the arm 24. This tube 26 extends vertically upward in a clearance fit through the center of the cylindrical guide 25 where it terminates in a vertical split expansion end 28', asillustrated in Fig. 7, with internal threads 29 therein. An elongated cylindrical rod 30 is extended upwardly through said tube where it is received in the hollow center of an expansion plug 3|, which is threaded downwardly in the threaded split end of said tube and a pin 32 is passed through said plug and said rod to firmly secure said rod in place and adapt rotation of said bolt to rotate said plug to selectively expand and contract the expansion end of said tube.

A swivel lever 33 is secured by a second pin 34 to the lower protruding end of said rod, below the lower termination of said tube, to facilitate the rotation of said rod. 'A right angular hollow supporting arm 35 is positioned with One leg E thereof inserted downwardly through said cylindrical guide telescoping over the tube 26 and adapted to be securely adjustably positioned by the expansion of the split end of the tube outwardly against the inner walls thereof. A circular flange 35 about the lower end of leg E provides a stop to prevent the leg from slipping completely out of the guide 25 when being vertically adjusted therein.

The second horizontal leg F of the arm 35 is adjustably supported adjacent the plate 2 in the manner now to be described.

A- hollow cylindrical adjusting post tube 31, provided with a pair of elongated vertical holes 38 diametrically oppositely disposed in the walls of said post, an externally threaded upper end 39 and a small circular flange 40 from the bottom thereof is vertically seated on said flanged bottom in a predetermined position on the horizontal plate 2 on the chair back. A hollow centered circular anchor vplate 4|, provided with spaced screw holes threabout is slipped down over the post 31 where it j'r'otatably secures the flange '40 to the plate 2 by means of screws inserted in said screw holes in the plate and said 'chairfmounting plate. A pair of.locking clamps 42 are then telescoped over the post 3] oneabove the other with their pairs of semigcircular bosses 43 adjacently disposed one above the other. An internall threaded locking cap 44, provided with a swivel lever 45, is threaded downward over said post to an abutting position with the upper locking clamp adapting the adjustable locking force of said clamps. A fini'shed cap 46 for the lockin post is loosely slipped overthe entire assembly to rest with its lower edge on the anchor plate 4|. This cap is provided with diametrically opposite elongated holes 4'l adapted to align'with the holes 38 of the post and the holes formed by the adjacent semi-circular bosses 43 of the locking clamps.

:Thus by backing off on the locking cap 44 the second horizontal arm F of the supporting arm 35 may be inserted through said cover, post and clamps to extend there beyond on the opposite side thereof, and the screw lock cap 44 is used to adjustably vary the extension thereof to selectively position the described headrest 1 relative to the chair back. A cap plug 48 is threaded on the lendof said extension to form a stop for said extension when brought to abutment with the cap 46.

"Thus it maybe seen that a headrest has been provided which is adjustable relative to the chair back A as well as horizontally adjustable on the carriage bolt l5 within the hollow tube [4, by actuation of the swivel lever 2| and cap 20, and vertically adjustable relative to the arm E by the expanding and contracting of the split end 28 of the expansion tube 26 by the means provided for the rotation of the extended rod 30 and the plug 3| making possible the vertical adjustment of the tube 26 within said arm E.

A bracket 49 is secured to the top Of the headrest 1 and is adapted by a horizontal transverse pin 50 therethrough to pivotally support one end of an extension arm 5 I, which is of a length equal to one-half that of the headrest, and on whose end is removably secured a reading light 52 adapted for universal movement thereabout. A pair of spring clips 53 are provided on the top of the headrest I and at each end thereof in alignment with the arc of pivotation of the arm 5! adapting the removable clamping of said arm in a horizontal position adjacent the top of the headrest I. The wiring 54 for the energization of the light 52 is passed through the eye bolt or loop 22 and from there rearwardly over the mounting plate 2 to be carried companion'with the wiring for the speaker 8 to their proper source.

The speaker controls are not set forth as a part of this invention but they could be of the conventional type having an enclosed panel with a selective switch and volume control thereon and adapting the selective use of'the speaker with radio or phonograph means and said control panel could be housed in a small box or the like which could be strapped or otherwise secured to the arm of the chair provided with the headrest in such a manner as to make it convenient to the occupant of the chair for control of the selective operation of the speaker. 'j 1' It is also to be understood that the headrest I may be provided singularly as illustrated in Fig;- 3, or in cooperative pairs as illustrated in Fig. l, and further these rests could be normally housed in such a manner within the surface of the chair back'so as to form a compact part therewith be removed from said'housing' only when their use is desired. A. y j

It may also be seen that this invention provides for an original attachment for public cone veyance seats which will add comfort tof the physical needs of the-passengers as wellfasa' luxurious amusement for listening pleasure com bined with the added feature of an' adjustable reading light.

Thus having described and explained the con.-' struction and. operation of this invention and with full belief that modifications in size; shape, and general characteristicswould not constitute departure from the spirit ofjthis' invention what I desire to claim in Letters Patent is I I 1. In a chair attachmentja headrest,"a headrest support comprising, a plate horizontally secured to the back of said chair, a cylindrical post with elongated holes diametrically -in-the walls rotatably secured to said plate, a p'air of clamp-. ing discs telescopically mounted over said post, a screw cap threaded overthe: upper end thereof adapted to adjustably regulate-thespacedgrelationship of said clamping members, an L-shaped supporting arm, one legof said. arm slidably mounted in said post holes and adjustably clamped by said clamping discs and said screw cap, a hollow tube having a pair of extending arms tlierefronr1', aic'ylindrical guide carried by '15 one of saidarms, saidgu'ideslidably mounted over the second vertically depending leg of said L-shaped arm, an expandible tube carried by the second arm of said hollow tube adapted to be telescoped within said vertical leg of said L- shaped arm, means carried external said expansion tube adapted to expand and contract said tube within said arm for the vertical adjustment of said hollow tube and said arms on said leg, a pin vertically carried by said headrest adapted to be received by said tube for the horizontal pivotation of said headrest thereabout, and means for tightening said pin within said tube to selectively position said headrest thereon.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said headrest comprises a backing plate, a layer of 5 perforated foamy rubber carried on one surface of said plate, a layer of sponge rubber is secured to said foamy rubber, a layer of fabric covers said headrest, and two vertically spaced brackets are carried by the rear of said plate to receive said hinge pin therethrough.

RICHARD J. CONRADT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 969,251 Denzer Sept, 6, 1910 1,515,467 Draving Nov. 11, 1924 1,845,401 Dietrich Feb. 16, 1932 1,864,615 Quinby June 28, 1932 2,031,643 Granovsky Feb. 25, 1936 2,107,404 Wilkin Feb. 8, 1938 

